When starting a weight loss journey, there are more than a few things to keep in mind. Since it is a long and often tedious process, let us start by saying you should have the right mindset from the onset. Nothing will be accomplished overnight. This includes other issues you may be tackling at the same time, like lowering your blood sugar and improving your blood cholesterol profile.

Your diet is of high importance. How and what you eat will determine your progress or lack thereof. Minding your calorie intake is also important, but it is secondary to healthy eating. If you focus your efforts on eating balanced meals and minimizing snacking, you will not have to worry so much about caloric intake. It is even more helpful to accept early on you will be experiencing mild periods of hunger. Without occasional hunger, no weight loss progress can be made.

As important as your diet is, however, physical activity should not be overlooked. And if there is something that deserves your focus just as much as your diet, it is exercise. It is not all about the calories you can burn. Even if it is helpful to do cardio, the benefits of exercise go far beyond those related to weight loss. Exercising…

helps “filter” your bloodstream, as it reduces blood triglycerides and

is effective against hypertension.

And this is only a short list of health benefits. For these reasons, you should see exercise as more than just a tool to boost your weight loss efforts. In a sense, you are working with something much more important than weight loss. Exercise, in all its shapes and forms, is worth your full attention.

It is easy to get caught up on weight loss: body weight is a reliable measure of your progress. Body weight also has ties to your appearance of course: so many people see it as imperative to see lower numbers on the scale. Be mindful of your body weight… but don’t focus on it. It is simply too variable. Not to mention the scales play tricks on you.

It is important to focus on eating well, but exercise is an area where your focus can be leveraged significantly. Commit to the habit of physical activity – whether it is…

cardio,

resistance training,

walking, or through

fitness classes.

This way, you should not feel the need to weigh yourself more than twice a week because you will know you are making progress. Having the habit in place is enough.